Indie Beer Week 2026: The National celebration of independent beer and pubs returns
A UK-wide beer week promoting ‘independent beer, pubs and people’ is returning for a second year, with a string of events set to take place in pubs, bars and brewery taprooms.
Indie Beer Week 2026 will take place from the 10th to the 19th April (taking in two weekends), with pubs, breweries and beer retailers running meet the brewer events, tap takeovers, beer festivals and more across the UK. Indie Beer Week was launched by the Indie Beer campaign last year as part of a drive to make it easier for consumers to identify beers from genuine independent breweries rather than Global beer giants.
Last year 118 breweries across the UK ran events as part of the inaugural Indie Beer Week, a number which organisers are keen to surpass in 2026;
“The response to the first Indie Beer Week last year was great, with a massive lineup of beer events happening across the UK and independent breweries of all shapes and sizes getting involved. It’s all about celebrating Indie Beer, grabbing the attention of new customers or offering something fun and engaging to your existing ones – getting involved is as simple as submitting your event via the website.
If you’re a brewery, pub, bottle shop, or venue selling independent beer and want to get involved drop us a line and we can make Indie Beer Week 2026 even bigger and better.” Neil Walker, Indie Beer spokesperson.
The Indie Beer campaign now has 667 independent breweries actively enrolled and has struck a chord with consumers too – with an impressive 31% of young (18-24) beer drinkers now aware of the campaign.
The campaign was launched at the end of 2024 in response to confusion amongst consumers over which beers were independent, after YouGov polling found 75% of people surveyed believe consumers are being misled when purchasing beer from once independent craft breweries, such as Beavertown, Camden, and Fullers that are now owned by Global beer giants Heineken, Budweiser and Asahi respectively. The figure for beer drinkers surveyed was even higher, with 81% of beer drinkers believing consumers are being misled.
The UK-wide Indie Beer Week is being run via the IndieBeer.uk website and social media channels. Any UK brewery, pub or beer venue can apply to have an Indie Beer Week event added free of charge.
Visit the website: www.indiebeer.uk
Register your event: www.indiebeer.uk/add_event.php
Want to get involved? Here’s how:
Indie Beer Week is open to all types of venue that serve or sell beer from local independent breweries, attracting new customers to your venues or creating something interesting for your regulars – here are just a few ideas for events you could run for #IBW2026.
Indie Beer Festival
Beer festivals can be a great way to attract new customers and build your local following, so why not take advantage of the increased press and promotion opportunities of Indie Beer Week to run a festival, large or small, at one of your venues? We’ll be promoting all events via the Indie Beer social channels and to our growing database of beer fans.
Tutored Tasting
The consumer research conducted as part of the Independent Beer Report frequently shows that consumers increasingly look for an ‘experience’ when choosing where to spend their money, particularly amongst younger demographics – and tutored tastings can be a great way to offer this in a fun and engaging way.
Talking people through a range of beers, discussing the beer styles and what makes each beer special is a great way to get people thinking differently about beer and potentially convert some new beer-lovers.
Special Offers or Tasting Flights
Running a special offer or a new ‘Indie Beer Week’ tasting flight can be a great way to capitalise on the buzz of the event and drive some sales through your shop. Again we’ll be promoting as many of these offers as possible so don’t miss the opportunity to drive some sales to your business during #IBW2026.
Tap Takeover
Tap Takeovers can be a great way to get a range of local beers in front of new customers and we’d encourage all independent beer venues, bottle shops and pubs to get in touch with local brewers and get more Indie Beers on the bar during #IBW2026. If you’ve got a tap takeover planned make sure to add it to the website and we can help promote.
Meet the Brewer Event
Best done in conjunction with a Tap Takeover, Meet the Brewer events can be a great opportunity to engage with customers and talk them through the beers from a local brewery.
Register your event via www.indiebeer.uk/add_event.php
